Robert Hurst is the author of The Art of [Urban] Cycling, The Art of Mountain Biking: Singletrack Skills for All Riders, The Cyclist's Manifesto, Best Bike Rides Denver and Boulder, Road Biking Colorado's Front Range, Mountain Biking Colorado's San Juan Mountains: Durango and Telluride, and The Bicycle Commuter's Handbook.

When the doctrine of allegiance to party can utterly up-end a man’s moral constitution and make a temporary fool of him besides, what excuse are you going to offer for preaching it, teaching it, extending it, perpetuating it?

Shall you say, the best good of the country demands allegiance to party? Shall you also say it demands that a man kick his truth and his conscience into the gutter, and become a mouthing lunatic, besides?

-- Twain

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WASHINGTON: US service members are suing the Tokyo Electric Power Co. for more than $2 billion on grounds the utility lied about the dangers of helping clean up the nuclear disaster that struck two years ago, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The case was first filed by nine plaintiffs in December but has now expanded to 26, and another 100 are in the process of joining the suit, said Stars and Stripes newspaper.

[…]

The plaintiffs says the have suffered a number of ailments that they say are linked to their exposure, including headaches, difficulty concentrating, rectal bleeding, thyroid problems, cancer, tumors and gynecological bleeding.

Figure 2. Carl Johnson studied cancer incidence for 1969-1971 among Anglos in three areas downwind of Rocky Flats defined by levels of plutonium contamination in millicuries per square kilometer (mCi/km2) as compared to the uncontaminated control area. See the text above for cancer incidence rate for each area. From Johnson, “Cancer Incidence in an Area Contaminated with Radionuclides Near a Nuclear Installation,” AMBIO, 10, 4, October 1981, page 177 and Table 3 (copyright Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, reprinted by permission of Allen Press Publishing Services).

Fires in 1957 and 1968 sent an unknown amount of highly radioactive material over the Denver area. Johnson found higher cancer rates the closer he got to Rocky Flats.

Sadly, the Fukushima accident happened, and has spread contamination throughout the world. So there is no food that is clean or safe.

ただし、猛烈に汚れている食べ物から比較的安全な食べ物まで、連続的に分布している。それをどのように受け入れるかが問題。

But there is a continuous variety of food from extremely contaminated food to relatively safe food. The issue is how to accept [allocate] such food.

猛烈な汚染食品は原子力を進めていた方々に食べてもらう。東電幹部、原子力を進めてきた政治家や、学者に食べてもらう。そういう仕組みを作りたい。

Extremely contaminated food should be eaten by people who have promoted nuclear power. TEPCO top management, and politicians and scholars who have promoted nuclear power. I would like to build such a system.

後は、原子力をここまで許してきてしまった大人たちに、汚染された食べ物を食べてもらって、子どもたちに汚染されていないものを食べさせてあげる。

The rest of the contaminated food should be eaten by adults, who have allowed nuclear power to this extent, so that the non-contaminated food goes to children.

It was first reported to Bridgestone by a buyer of the bicycle, alerting the company that the basket attached to the bicycle was emitting radiation. Bridgestone had the baskets tested, and found the source of radiation to be cobalt-60. The baskets were imported from China, according to Bridgestone.

From the press release by the Ministry of Education and Science (MEXT) on April 18, 2012:

Report from Bridgestone Cycle Company to MEXT at about 4:10PM on April 17 that radiation was detected from the baskets installed on the bicycles that the company sells.

The bicycles were assembled at the Ageo Factory [in Saitama Prefecture].

7.5 to 10.6 microsieverts/hour radiation was detected on the surface of the baskets at 1 centimeter.